7 (Sort of) Clever Ways to Use Your Drink Mate

The Drink Mate, by Aussie Outdoor Mate, is one of those camping accessories that provokes quiet whispers among tradeshow punters...

“That’s it. That’s exactly what’s missing from my campsite.”

...most likely because the Drink Mate’s core function revolves around three things: alcohol, chips, and you guessed it, mates.

Take one Drink Mate, add a bottle of wine, a couple of beers, a packet of chips, your mates, your family, and a dash of good ol’ Aussie campfire banter, and you’ve got a camping trip to remember (or to forget).

It’s fair to say, it sells itself. So the creative team here at Outdoria thought we'd see what other uses we could find for our Drink Mate: and boy have we got some (sort of) clever applications for you.

1. Sauce Mate

How many times have you been ready to tuck into that snag-hot-off-the-barbie, looked around for the sauce in despair, only to realise it’s back in the caravan?

Begrudgingly, you lift yourself out of your camp chair, turning awkwardly to place your plate on your seat, and trudge off to find the necessary condiments.

At Outdoria, we think a life with sauceless snags isn’t a life worth living! So make sure you reserve a couple of spots on your Drink Mate for your favourite sauces and seasonings buy a second Drink Mate to use as a condiments station: because drink holders are valuable real estate.

2. Bird Mate

One of the truly wonderful things about exploring the Australian outdoors is the variety of birdlife that you will come across on your travels.

If you feel like some extra company, why not turn your drink mate into a native Australian bird feeder and attract some local critters. Who knows you might discover an entirely new species (it could happen) and get some great photos to show your friends back home. Just remember to take the chips away first.

3. Fish Mate

Fishing and beer go together like most things go with beer: very well.

But how many rod holders also look after your beer and snacks while you’re trying to bring home the oceanic bacon?

On a recent camping trip, we found the Drink Mate worked as a perfectly passable rod holder mid-sip, keeping our reels out of the sand, and our thirst quenched. And when you’re ready to start fishing again, just pop your beer down and grab your rod to reel in the big one.

4. Dog Mate

Why should Chilly the dog miss out on all the campfire shenanigans? The bowl that came with your Drink Mate is excellent for chips and excellent for re-hydrating pooch after a long walk. We strongly suggest that you get two Drink Mates because mixing dog bowl with chip bowl is inevitable and a bit gross.

5. Beach Mate

Sand in the chips. Ugh. Sand in your beer. Worse! Don’t put up with that sort of barbaric snack treatment: take your Drink Mate to the beach and create a sand-free snack and sunscreen station.

Speaking of keeping things off the ground, one of our favourite things about the Drink Mate is the many levels of adjustment it allows. You can even…

6. Use it as a horse trough (a.k.a. the Horse Mate)

Who knew that Apple Sauce the horse fancied a tipple of ChardonNay? Apple Sauce shall no longer go thirsty because the Drink Mate is the perfect (pretend horse feeding trough) height.

[Note: Please don’t feed alcohol to your animals. This is obviously just a joke].

7. And the pièce de résistance: the Shower Mate

Okay, we’re pretty proud of this one. In fact it’s so good, we think you’ll soon be using your Drink Mate in the shower too. Not only does it hold everything you need to clean yourself – shampoo, conditioner, loofah, soap (for the animals out there wondering – but it creates the only scenario that absolutely trumps the classic Shower Beer…wait for it...

Buy a Drink Mate, crack open your first Outdoor Shower Beer using the built-in bottle opener, and thank us later.

Where can the Drink Mate possibly go from here?

The Drink Mate was inspired by a thirst for good times in the Australian outdoors.

And while some of the (sort of) clever uses we’ve suggested might be a bit of a stretch (apart from the Shower Mate, which is obviously genius), our efforts were inspired by the fact that the Drink Mate really does encourage creativity.

Those bottle holders might be designed to fit wine and beer bottles, but you can just as easily pop a selection of dips in there; a scented candle to make a romantic candlelit dinner, or pile it up with green smoothies for health-conscious team members. There really is so much room for mixing it up, keeping the whole crowd happy.

And better yet, Aussie Outdoor Mates is just getting started.

Introducing the Dunny Mate.

The Dunny Mate is the perfect companion for those times nature calls in the Aussie outdoors. It even comes with two fresh rolls, so you’re good to go straight out of the bag.

And these two products are just the first in a line of camping solutions AOM is planning to produce.

For example, some of you might be wondering, “what’s that threaded hole in the top of the Drink Mate for?”

That’s forward thinking folks.

Rather than going the way of certain fruit-named tech companies, AOM is planning to design additional attachments in the future. That pre-threaded attachment point means you won’t have to buy a whole new Drink Mate to use these novel accessories.

The guys at AOM have even hinted at new and exciting adaptations (which probably won’t involve bird seed) that they are planning to produce in the future.

So grab a Drink Mate...mate...and watch this space! They’ll definitely come up with better ideas than us.

Please do not use your drink mate for anything that might void the manufacturer's warranty unless you want to try and fix it at your own expense.